(Jamaica Gleaner) A small Jamaican firm that has made a name for itself providing technology-based solutions for some financial administration problems that plague schools has secured a United States government contract and an undisclosed amount of capital from American billionaire George Soros to transfer its expertise to a problem-plagued school-lunch programme in the West African nation of Ghana. The programme is said to be costing the government there US$250 million a year to administer.

Student Card Limited (SCL) was among 14 firms that each received between US$50,000 and US$100,000 in January as seed funding from the United States Agency for International Development for various projects under what is known as the African Diaspora Market programme.

The development agency has also placed SCL in the hands of renowned American financier Soros, whose venture-capital outfit will provide additional equity funding to the fledgling outfit. Richard Houlihan, who runs a leading company valuation and financial advisory firm with offices throughout the US, is also named in the deal.

While it has not been ascertained which investment vehicle Soros is using to help capitalise SCL, it is expected that the financier will take up to a 20 per cent stake in the enterprise.

The firm is a local provider of technology to educational institutions in Jamaica. Its products and services include an electronic student lunch card, which provides greater accountability and easier administration for such feeding programmes. Jamaicans Khary Robinson, Lennox Robinson, Bobby Chin and Peter Chin are the directors of the company.

According to Khary Robinson, the chief executive officer, through its technology-based systems, SCL will save the Ghanaian government up to US$130 million a year on the lunch programme, which is plagued by accountability issues affecting the existing paper-based voucher system.

Innovative business idea

Now seven years old, SCLwas one of 10 companies chosen from a field of 733 in January to enhance development in African nations through innovative business ideas.

“The Ghanaian government currently spends US$250 million on feeding 500,000 students each day, a process that should cost them US$120 million. Therefore, SCL could save Ghana as much as US$130 million annually,” said Robinson.